Banks’ earnings pop masks deeper concerns NEW YORK (AP) — Major U.S. banks have turned in big profit gains this season, but the news isn’t all good. Much of the earnings increase is coming from cutting costs, rather than growing their core lending businesses. A boom in mortgage refinancing looks like it’s about to peter out. And regulators are considering stricter rules that would force the banks to shore up their cash. “It was a very good quarter with headline numbers better than exp...

BP seeks halt to Gulf oil spill settlement payouts NEW ORLEANS (AP) — BP asked a federal judge on Tuesday to temporarily halt all settlement payments to Gulf Coast businesses and residents who claim they lost money after the company’s 2010 oil spill while former FBI Director Louis Freeh investigates alleged misconduct by a lawyer who helped administer the multibillion-dollar settlement program. BP PLC argues in a court filing that it shouldn’t be required to take the risk that hundreds of mill...

LA to deploy more police to prevent disturbances LOS ANGELES (AP) — After a spate of vandalism and violence, Los Angeles police vowed Tuesday to crack down with quick action and arrests if further disturbances arise from street protests over the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the killing of a black Florida teenager. “For those of you who were here last night and came for the wrong reasons, if you come here again tonight, you will go to jail,” police Chief Charlie Beck said at a news confer...

Spacesuit water leak ends spacewalk; astronaut OK CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — In one of the most harrowing spacewalks in decades, an astronaut had to rush back into the International Space Station on Tuesday after a mysterious water leak inside his helmet robbed him of the ability to speak or hear at times and could have caused him to choke or even drown. Italian Luca Parmitano was reported to be fine after the dangerous episode, which might have been caused by an unprecedented leak in the co...

AG Holder criticizes stand-your-ground laws ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Stand-your-ground laws that allow a person who believes he is in danger to use deadly force in self-defense “sow dangerous conflict” and need to be reassessed, Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday in assailing the statutes that exist in many states. Holder said he was concerned about the Trayvon Martin slaying case in which Florida’s stand-your-ground law played a part. But he added: “Separate and apart from the case ...

Judge ponders September trial date for Arias PHOENIX (AP) — A new jury could be impaneled to decide whether Jodi Arias should be sentenced to death or life in prison sometime in late September, a judge said Tuesday, as attorneys continue to file motions and keep mum on any talk of a deal to resolve the case without another trial. Arias was convicted of first-degree murder May 8 in the stabbing and shooting death of boyfriend Travis Alexander in his suburban Phoenix home. About two weeks ...

Doctor accused in 4 slayings was denied licenses OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Indiana doctor accused of killing four people with ties to a Nebraska medical school that fired him was denied medical licenses in at least two states after the dismissal from Creighton University more than a decade ago. Authorities have not disclosed a motive in the slayings, except to note the firing. But documents show that the dismissal for erratic behavior in 2001 had long-lasting effects on Anthony Garcia's career. ...

Obama: Immigration debate will slip into the fall WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Tuesday conceded that an immigration overhaul cannot be achieved by his August deadline. With House Republicans searching for a way forward on the issue, the president said he was hopeful a bill could be finalized this fall — though even that goal may be overly optimistic. The president, in a series of interviews with Spanish language television stations, also reiterated his insistence that any legis...

As cyber attacks detonate, banks gird for battle It’s a war game, Wall Street style. Banks large and small are girding for an elaborate drill this week that will test how they would fare if hackers unleashed a powerful and coordinated attack against them. The exercise is being called “Quantum Dawn 2,” and if the name sounds like a video game, it’s also meant to convey the seriousness of the threat. Cyberattacks on the banking industry are growing more frequent and sophisticated and the list ...

US economy looks weaker after subpar retail sales WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy appears to be weaker than many economists had thought after a report Monday showed consumers spent cautiously in June at retail businesses. Americans bought more cars and trucks, furniture and clothes. But they cut back almost everywhere else. They spent less at restaurants and bars, reduced purchases at home improvement stores, and bought fewer computers and electronics. Overall retail spending rose 0.4 perc...

Liz Cheney: Time for ’new generation’ in US Senate CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Saying it’s time for a new generation of leaders in Washington, Liz Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, announced Tuesday she will run against Wyoming’s senior U.S. senator in next year’s Republican primary. Cheney is taking on popular Sen. Mike Enzi, who announced almost simultaneously on Tuesday his plans to seek a fourth, six-year term. Cheney’s announcement is a political challenge unlike anythi...

National Zoo taking no chances of another escape WASHINGTON (AP) — A red panda’s escape and wanderings through residential sidewalks and backyards last month has prompted a new plan to inspect trees, bushes and other vegetation around every exhibit at the National Zoo. An investigation determined Rusty the red panda likely climbed out through the trees in his exhibit. Now the limbs have been cut back, and the zoo has two cameras aimed at the red panda yard around the clock. According to a zo...

Obama praises HW Bush for volunteer initiative WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama welcomed President George H.W. Bush to the White House on Monday in a salute to public service and to the drive for volunteerism that the 41st president inspired with his “thousand points of light” initiative more than two decades ago. “We are surely a kinder and gentler nation because of you,” Obama told the elder Bush, who sat in a room filled with his friends and former aides. The first President Bus...

All involved agree, sand dune rescue ’a miracle’ CHICAGO (AP) — One minute, 6-year-old Nathan Woessner was scampering up a massive dune in northern Indiana with his dad and a friend. He was gone the next, without a warning or sound. More than three hours later, rescuers pulled Nathan out from under 11 feet of sand on Friday. He showed no signs of life: He was cold to the touch, had no pulse and wasn’t breathing. His limp body was put into the back of a pickup truck, which started toward a wa...

Penn State gets report on federal Sandusky probe HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Penn State has received a preliminary report from the federal government regarding whether its handling of the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal complied with campus crime reporting requirements, the university said Monday. The school said that neither it nor the U.S. Department of Education was permitted under the law to release information about the report at this time, but that details will be made public after...

Senate steps back from brink in nominations fight WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate stepped away from the brink of a meltdown on Tuesday, confirming one of President Barack Obama’s nominees long stalled by Republicans, agreeing to quick action on others and finessing a Democratic threat to overturn historic rules that protect minority-party rights. “Nobody wants to come to Armageddon here,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat whose talks with Arizona Republican John McCain were critical...

Twinkies may be smaller than people recall NEW YORK (AP) — Twinkies are back, but they may be a bit smaller than you remember. The new boxes hitting shelves this week list the spongy yellow cakes as having 270 calories and a weight of 77 grams for two cakes, or 135 calories and 38.5 grams for one cake. Right before it went out of business, the predecessor company had told The Associated Press that Twinkies were 150 calories per cake. Photos of past boxes online also indicate the weight...

Texas Republicans finally pass new abortion limits AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Texas passed a bill that would give the state some of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws and force most of its clinics to close, leading Democrats to promise a fight over the contentious measure in the courts and at the ballot box. More than 2,000 demonstrators filled the Capitol building in Austin to voice their opposition to the bill, including six protesters who were dragged out of the S...

Zimmerman cleared in shooting of Trayvon Martin SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — Neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman was cleared of all charges Saturday in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teenager whose killing unleashed furious debate across the U.S. over racial profiling, self-defense and equal justice. Zimmerman, 29, blinked and barely smiled when the verdict was announced. He could have been convicted of second-degree murder or manslaughter. But the jury of six women, al...